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Hello! Today, we learn about energy-sucking cancer cells, explore a map of the human brain, and update you on the downfall of Cassava Sciences. Have a good weekend.
The need-to-know this morning
- European regulators turned down an appeal filed by Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, seeking the approval of a treatment for ALS.
Vampire-like cancer cells leech energy from T-cells
Some tumor cells can sap T cells of their energy, which might explain one way that cancers can evade the body’s defenses and resist treatment, new research shows. Certain cancer cells can extend a long nanotube projection into T cells that sucks out the mighty mitochondria. Like vampires, the cancer cells can use the mitochondria to energize themselves.
Mitochondrial DNA is distinct from nuclear DNA, because these organelles were likely once independent organisms. Over time, they entered an endosymbiotic relationship with the host cells that they live in.
“In some settings, mitochondria can be transferred to repair damaged cells,” Bo Li, the University of Pennsylvania researcher who led this research, told STAT. “Horizontal transfer is a way to keep the mitochondrial homeostasis so cells will stay healthy. But transfer between cancer cells and T cells is a very new finding.”
When is a billion-dollar deal a bad omen?
Has Wall Street gone overboard on Ozempic? And how do you edit a chicken?
We cover all that and more this week on “The Readout LOUD,” STAT’s biotech podcast. We discuss Bristol Myers Squibb’s multibillion-dollar acquisition of Mirati Therapeutics and what it means for a biotech sector still in a slump. We also explain the latest news in the life sciences, including Wall Street’s freakout over GLP-1, CRISPR’ing animals, and the latest in the NASH saga.
Scientific misconduct underpinning Cassava Sciences drug
The downward spiral of Cassava Sciences continues: After long last, an investigation at CUNY has accused faculty member Hoau-Yan Wang of scientific misconduct involving 20 research papers, Science writes. Wang’s work prompted the company to move its experimental Alzheimer’s drug into clinical trials.
The investigation found signs of images that were manipulated, such as in a 2012 paper in the Journal of Neuroscience that suggested the company’s drug, simufilam, could shield the brain from the negative effects of beta amyloid. The committee also found that Cassava exec Lindsay Burns, who co-authored many of the papers, bears primary or partial responsibility for the possible misconduct or scientific errors. But investigators couldn’t prove their case, because Wang did not give them access to the raw data, a 50-page report shows.
Last year, the DOJ began a criminal investigation into the company, saying that it manipulated research results for simufilam. And in January, a study showed the drug worked no better than placebo.
Scientists unveil atlas of the human brain
Scientists have mapped the human brain extensively, compiling what essentially is a cellular “parts list” and rubric explaining how each bit works. The findings have been published across 21 studies in Science and its sister publications, and there’s more to come. This new brain atlas was made from the brains of more than 100 people, including organ donors and surgical patients.
Researchers from around the world have not only been cataloguing human brain cells, but also finding new ways to target them. One approach is to ultimately sift through blood to find bits of DNA from damaged brain cells — hoping that neurological disease might be diagnosed early.
“If we can push through this technology, basically we can imagine you can just get a little bit [of] blood and just do some blood work and you can know if you [are at] risk or if you have an early stage of certain kinds of brain disease,” one researcher said.
More reads
- Lilly’s bowel disease drug succeeds in late-stage study, Reuters
- PepGen gains a little pep in its step as FDA lifts hold on myotonic dystrophy trial, FierceBiotech